Taiwan’s Wushantou Dam to host 13.7 MW floating PV array

The 20 MW Wushantou hydroelectric power dam operated by Taiwanese state-owned utility Taiwan Power Corp in Tainan city will see its capacity increase by 13.7 MW with the addition of a floating solar power plant.

The announcement was given by South Korean floating PV specialist Scotra, which will provide its floating structures for the project through a US$4 million supply agreement. Construction on the facility is scheduled to start in August and be finalized in August.

The project, which is being developed by Taiwan's Water Resources Agency, is planned to be built with 34,263 solar modules with a power output of 400 W each, on a 13-hectare surface.

Scotra had previously provided its structures for a 2 MW floating project at the Fengsan dam, located in Kaohsiung, southern Taiwan.

A lack of land for large scale solar power projects has recently prompted the government of the island to turn to floating PV. The largest project under development is a 181 MW floating solar project at the Changhua Coastal Industrial Park, in the Changbin Lunwei East district of the island.

The Taiwanese government aims to install 20 GW of solar by 2025 – including 3 GW of rooftop installations. According to the latest figures from the International Renewable Energy Agency, the island had approximately 5.81 GW at the end of 2020.